we'll see how skillful romney is. the advantage we have is, steve is here with us. >> right now there's a romney strategist rushing a memo to mr. romney in his prep room saying, the liberals on msnbc say -- we'll see if they take this. we've got to take a quick break. tonight is probably as big as it gets in terms of the persuadable audience watching tonight to make up their mind between these two candidates. it may not get bigger than it is tonight. we have nbc's chuck today straight ahead with the latest numbers. we've got a lot to get to. this is msnbc's live coverage of the first presidential debate. >> i want you to know that, also, i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the nissan altima and reimagined nearly everything in it? gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... advanced headlights... and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ intro